Interdisciplinary Mindfulness Researcher

University of Amsterdam

My interest in mindfulness began while I was recovering from a difficult traffic accident that led to several surgeries. I then began practicing mindfulness with a sole goal to fix my problems related to sustaining attention that emerged at that time. I soon noticed the effects on many other aspects of my life, including living with chronic pain and anxiety. Curiosity about this personal experience first led me to learn more about research on mindfulness and similar psychological interventions and later to contribute to the current knowledge as a researcher. In my research, I combine psychology, molecular biology, and neuroscience to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between psychological interventions, stress, and mental health. 

After completing a master’s programme in psychology at University of Zagreb (Croatia), I obtained two PhDs: one by Coventry University (UK) in 2018 and another by Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University (Netherlands) in 2020. 

In 2020, I founded Mindfulness Centre Split to transfer knowledge about mindfulness and mental health in my home country (Croatia) where these topics often remain overlooked and not spoken about.

In 2021, I was awarded a prestigious Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Individual Fellowship to continue my research in psychoneuroimmunology of mindfulness at the University of Amsterdam for a period of two years.

In 2023, I was awarded a Varela Grant by the Mind & Life Institute to fund my line of research at the University of Amsterdam for the next two years. You can learn more about my current and past research by clicking here.

In 2024, I became certified in Agile Project Management (AgilePM®), passing both Foundation and Practitioner exams.